Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon

John: I do wine tips now on occasion. I don’t do as many from Costco because—except for those Bordeaux boxes—the distribution is sketchy. But once in a while, they have a cheap wine that everybody has, I think, in most of the stores. And I’m recommending one.

Adam: Okay…

John: I was actually stunned—stunned, I tell you—by the quality of this product. It’s a California wine.

Adam: And wait, this is available at Costco?

John: Yeah, I was actually stunned. Stunned and more stunned.

Adam: Before you even tell us—so how did you discover this? You’re like: “I’m at Costco. I see a bottle. It looks like crap, but I’ll try it anyway”?

John: Well, it goes like this: here’s my methodology for buying rando wines.

Adam: Rando wines?

John: Yeah, well, I’m going by and I’m looking. I say, “Well, that label’s screwy.” In fact, it looks like an old-fashioned Geyser Peak label. It just has a different look. For a Kirkland wine, I’m looking—oh, it’s $9.90.

Adam: In the pocket, baby. That’s right in your price range.

John:  Let me look at it. Eh, you know, that’s a cheap California Cabernet. I’m thinking, “This can’t be any good,” but it’s only nine bucks—let me check it out.

It’s a stunner.

Adam: Really?

John: I mean, I was taken aback. This is the Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley, which is a great little Cabernet-growing area. Alexander Valley, 2022.

Adam: Oh, that’s a good year for Cabernet.

John: It’s a good year for a lot of things—and Bordeaux’s a really good year. So this wine—for $9.90 or whatever it was—is ridiculous. It’s structured beautifully. Normally for that kind of money, California wines are flabby, they’re not balanced correctly, they don’t have the right flavors, the profiles are off.

This is a stunner, I’m telling you. Maybe I just got a good bottle, it’s possible. But I would recommend: give this a shot.

Adam: Wow. Well, I would say maybe you should try Aldi from time to time—see if you can find something there. I mean, you’re just finding all the good stuff at all the craziest places.

John: Yes.